Mrs Reader
by Medico legal
Summary: What might have happened if Clive had gone to Manchester after his Silk party.
1. Chapter 1

I found this story that I started a while ago and have finally been able to finish the other chapters.

* * *

Martha opened the door to the pub and pushed her way through the many groups of people celebrating the end of another working day. She finally found the person she was looking for amongst some more familiar faces she knew, at the back of the room. Billy and some colleagues were out celebrating her latest success. Before she reached the man in question, he caught sight of her making her way towards him.

"Here she is," said Billy, alerting others to her presence, "the lady of the moment," he continued as Martha finally reached Billy and the group of lawyers he was in the middle of talking too. "What can I get you to drink, Miss?" He asked. "I've put some money behind the bar for Shoe Lane,".

"Um a glass of Merlot will do thanks," she replied. "Billy can I have a word?" She asked, once he had got the attention of the bar man and placed Martha's order. "In private," Martha continued with a tilt of her head towards the door when Billy didn't make a move.

"Course, Miss" and he followed Martha out of the pub towards the exit. Once outside Martha led them to a wooden table away from several groups of people who had congregated outside for a cigarette. Martha rummaged in her handbag and located her own pack of cigarettes as she sat down. She offered Billy the pack and he took one before lighting up. For a few minutes both took a couple of drags from their cigarettes, the silence being punctuated with the noise inside the pub as people came and left the pub through the door.

"David Cowdrey's hearing voices," Martha started. "He didn't want to speak to Alan during his trial because apparently they told him they would hurt Alan if he did," she continued. Billy didn't say anything, just continued puffing on his cigarette. "I didn't realise at first, only towards the end of the trial," she went on. "But I think he needs help," she finished.

"Does anyone else know?" Billy asked.

"CW and Clive," Martha confirmed. "I needed their advice on what to do about the trial. Whether I could continue or not," she explained when Billy looked at her.

"And what did they advise?" He prodded.

"Well I followed CW's advice. She thought I could continue and finish the trial. Thankfully she was right,".

"And Mr Reader?"

"Clive thought I should have mentioned it," Martha revealed. "I've just finished talking to him on the phone again, let him know the result, you know, as he's helped me quite a bit with my case despite being in Manchester. He's reminded me that I've got to tell Alan," Martha finished. She knew she had to, but really wasn't looking forward to that particular job.

"He doesn't know yet?" Asked Billy for confirmation. Martha shook her head.

"I couldn't do it, Billy. Not after the result. Let them have the weekend and I'll do it next week. I was just wondering if you would be there when I told Alan? You've known him longest. You're David's godfather as well. I think he's going to need some support,".

"Of course, Miss," agreed Billy. They puffed their cigarettes for a couple of minutes in silence. "You alright, Miss?" He asked. "You look tired,".

"Didn't realise how exhausting it was going to be, defending my head of chambers' son on a murder charge. Won't be doing that again," she joked.

"Take the day off tomorrow, Miss. Start the weekend early. Your diary's free if I remember correctly," to which Martha gave a nod.

"I might just do that Billy," she acknowledged with a smile. They finished their cigarettes after a while.

"It's taken about twenty years longer than you," Billy said as he stubbed his cigarette out and exhaled his last bit of smoke, "but I think Mr Reader may have finally grown up," Billy remarked.

"You might just be right," Martha agreed as she stubbed her cigarette out.

"Let's go inside, Miss. Your Merlot must be ready by now,".

* * *

The next day Martha awoke later than usual having treated herself to a lie in. She got up and made herself breakfast and then pottered around the house wondering how she was going to fill her day and the weekend that stretched ahead of her. She wasn't one for doing nothing, much preferring to keep busy.

Her phone sounded indicating she'd received a text. Wandering over to where it lay on the kitchen table, she picked it up and glanced at the new message. It was from Clive. _'Looks like I'm here for the weekend as it's going to be a late finish tonight. Where's good for dinner?'_ . She could tell he wasn't particularly happy about that, stuck in a city where he did not know anyone. A thought occurred to her- maybe instead of telling him where was good, she could show him. Prove to him that 'the north' was just as nice as the south of the country. A quick look at her wrist watch revealed it to be still only mid morning. She could make it to Manchester easily before he finished for the day.

Perhaps, she thought, it would also provide the perfect opportunity to finally have a certain conversation with Clive. Apart from a rather nice snog in a deserted court room, they hadn't really discussed the implications of what Clive had confessed to her at his silk party a little over a week ago. She couldn't ignore it any longer. Billy was right in his observation that Clive had grown up. Becoming a QC appeared to have been the making of him, and this new sensible side to him was proving to be quite attractive to Martha. It was so much better than the shallow side to him that in the past had flirted with any attractive women that happened to pass through Shoe Lane chambers. She needed to understand where she stood with Clive once and for all before she let herself fall for him anymore than she might have already.

* * *

A couple of hours later and Martha's train was finally pulling into Manchester Piccadilly station. Weaving her way though all the commuters she made her way to the exit. Again glancing at the time she realised it was just after three o'clock. Perhaps she should have thought this through a little more carefully before leaving London. It was starting to rain and she had nowhere to stay. What was she going to do for two hours? She convinced herself that Clive wouldn't mind her waiting for him in his room, so she set off for his hotel. He'd let her know where he was staying and in what room as soon as he had reached Manchester.

By the time she reached the hotel lobby, it was raining quite heavily. Thinking that reception wouldn't let any random stranger into a guests room without prior notice, she hatched a plan and took her thumb ring off and replaced it on her left ring finger as she walked to the main desk.

"Can I help you Madam?" one of the receptionists asked as Martha reached the desk and parked her suitcase beside her.

"My husband is staying here. Mr Reader, room 450. I'm paying him a surprise visit and wondered if it would be possible to be let into his room?" She explained hoping this would work. "Told me he was staying in one of the penthouse suites here. Guess I'll find out if he's telling the truth or not," she continued hoping the woman behind the desk would buy her story. She didn't have long to wait before she was handed an extra key card and given directions to the room. Thanking the woman, she headed off in the direction of the lifts. She hadn't got very far before she was called back.

"Sorry Mrs Reader," Martha heard. It took a little moment before she realised the receptionist was talking to her. She turned back to the desk. "Your husband has had some post delivered," she was informed as she was handed a large envelope. Martha looked down and saw Jake's familiar scrawl on the front. "Would you mind taking it up for him?"

"Of course not," she replied. "Thank you," she finished, and was on her way again.

She found his room very easily and went inside. Clive hadn't been joking, he had a suite almost the same size as her flat in London. The views over Manchester were very good as well. The CPS was obviously looking after him well. The last room she found was the bathroom. Inside was a lovely big bath that looked very inviting to Martha. She was cold and wet and decided that a bath may be just the thing she needed whilst waiting for Clive. Turning on the taps, she started to run the bath and decided to help herself to the luxury bubble bath she found in the room. Clive wouldn't mind she knew. He was more of a shower man if given the choice, and she could see his toiletries lined up neatly near the cubicle. Leaving her suitcase in the bedroom she returned to the bathroom and gratefully sank into the bubbles once her bath was ready.

* * *

Nearly two hours later, a couple of miles away, court had finally finished for Clive. He wasn't in the best of moods with his late finish one of the reasons. Fraud cases were not all that interesting at the best of times and he had four months of this. But, this was his first case as a QC and he was determined to make sure he put on a good performance, and more importantly, won the case. He had put long hours in this week, staying up late each night preparing for the next day in court and had hoped to catch a train back down to London this afternoon and spend the weekend relaxing in his apartment, but he couldn't face the commute now. Living in a hotel was ok but he has getting a bit tired of the restaurant food. He had hoped that Martha would have replied to his text earlier in the day so he would have somewhere to eat tonight, but it looked as though it would be the hotel restaurant again tonight, and tomorrow he would investigate the city of Manchester, with or without Martha's advice.

It was raining hard as he exited the court building, but unlike London was able to hail a cab very easily. He was pleasantly surprised at the fare as well when he was dropped off at his hotel. He made his way to the reception desk hoping to see if any post had arrived for him. Working in Manchester for four months, Billy was making sure his correspondence got redirected to his hotel.

"Any post for me today?" Clive enquired when he reached the front of the queue.

"Yes," replied the receptionist. "Your wife has already taken it up,".

"My wife?" Clive responded in shock.

"Oh my goodness," remembered the receptionist as she brought her hand to her mouth. She had misinterpreted the reason for his shock. "It was supposed to be a surprise. I'm sorry for ruining it," she apologised.

"Don't worry. It's definitely going to be a surprise when I see her," Clive assured the woman as he headed for the lifts. He had a fairly good idea who was in his room. All week Nicola, the CPS solicitor who was in Manchester with him, had been making very unsubtle hints that she was interested in Clive. He was finding it very uncomfortable to be in her company now, and he thought he had done a good job of avoiding her after court had finished this evening. Maybe that wasn't the case, he thought as he entered the lift and pressed the top floor button. He was going to have to be straight with her. Tell her in no uncertain terms that he simply wasn't interested in any sort of relationship with her. This had to be a first he smiled to himself, that he was turning down a woman, but the truth was that he was still very much interested in a certain blonde who shared his office at work in London. Working in Manchester had been torture so far. In London, he was easily able to pick her out due to her accent. Up here, nearly everyone sounded like her and every time he heard his name called, he was always looking into the face of a stranger.

The lift came to a halt and he waited for the doors to slide open before stepping out and turning in the direction of his room. He had taken the plunge last week at his silk party, finally telling her how he felt about her. Apart from a rather nice snog in that court room, they hadn't really talked about their relationship. Being in Manchester hadn't really helped. He had decided that whilst away, he was going to try and prove to her how he had changed. Show her that he could now be trusted, that he was not the man who flirted with any woman he happened to meet. Maybe by the time he returned to London, she would realise that and perhaps want something more.

He reached his door and stood outside for a minute working out what he was going to say to Nicola to let her down gently. With his mind finally made up, he opened the door and went inside. He couldn't hear the intruder and after searching his suite including the balcony, couldn't find her either. The only sign of someone having been in his room was the small suitcase in the bedroom and his post lying on the coffee table.

"Hello!" Called Clive. "Is someone here?"

Inside the bathroom Martha was roused by Clive's voice. The bath had been amazing and she had loved the massaging jets. She had refilled the bath with warm water at least twice and had obviously relaxed so much after the stress of David Cowdrey's trial, she had fallen asleep. She knew with Clive now returned she had to leave her warm haven and go greet her friend.

Clive heard the sloshing of water behind the closed bathroom door and knocked on it.

"Is someone in there?" He demanded crossly thinking it quite rude of the solicitor to take a bath in his room.

"Sorry it's only me," Martha called out detecting his anger.

"Marth?" Clive now asked a little perplexed but so thankful it wasn't Nicola.

"Yeah. I'll be out in a minute,".

"I'm going to open the mini bar after the day I've had," explained Clive. "Can I get you anything?".

"A red wine if there's one would be great," replied Martha.

Clive headed to the fridge and looked inside. He pulled out a beer for himself. On top of the fridge was a small bottle of red and he opened it and poured the contents into a glass for Martha. He headed over to the sofa, took his shoes off, removed his tie and undid his collar button. He sat down and leaned his head against the top of the sofa with his eyes closed, glad that the week was over and that he didn't have a mad woman waiting for him in his room.

He opened one eye when he heard the bathroom door open. Martha appeared in one of the hotel dressing gowns in a cloud of steam. He took a moment to look her up and down. She remained at the entrance to the bathroom obviously embarrassed at having been caught in the bath.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but what are you doing here?" He wanted to know.

"I didn't have anything to do. Billy gave me the day off after David's trial. I got your text and thought it might be better if I showed you, rather than told you where to go to get the best of Manchester," she explained. "You don't mind do you?".

"Course not," he replied as he indicated her drink on the coffee table in front of him. Martha took the hint and retrieved her drink before sitting on the sofa next to him. "Highlight of my week," he complimented.

"Thought it might be safer too," she continued. "Less chance of getting bullied,".

"If I'm out with a native you mean?" He asked and Martha nodded with a smile. "Actually you northerners are very friendly. Been here a week and none of that bullying you were scared about. Nice to know you were worried about me though," he added as he took a sip of his drink. Martha mirrored his action.

"Congratulations on your verdict by the way," Clive remembered as he tapped his glass against hers.

"Thanks,".

"Have you told Alan about David yet?" He asked. Martha shook her head.

"I couldn't spoil his happiness at the not guilty verdict yesterday. I'll do it next week after they've had the weekend celebrating," she revealed taking another sip of drink. "I told Billy about it yesterday. He promised to be there with me when I told him,".

"Good idea...Mrs Reader," Clive agreed not missing the opportunity to tease his friend. Martha paused mid sip on hearing his last two words.

"Shit. How did you find out?" She wanted to know, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"The receptionist let it slip downstairs," Clive revealed.

"Sorry. I told them to keep it a secret," she started to explain as she turned to face her friend and rested her left arm along the back of the sofa. "It was raining when I arrived and I didn't know where to go to wait for you. I didn't think they'd let some random stranger into your room so I told them I was your wife,".

"Well it was a bit of a surprise to learn I had a wife," Clive admitted. "But I'm glad it was you. I kind of like the way it sounds. Think it suits you,".

"What suits me?" Martha asked a little confused at his last words.

"The name. Mrs Reader," he answered.

"Whilst we're on the topic," Martha stated, "we should perhaps talk about your big declaration at your silk party at some point this weekend,".

"I still mean it Marth, and I'm trying to prove it to you,".

"I know," she confessed. "And it has been noted,".

"So am I going to like how the conversation goes, when we finally have it?" Clive asked getting serious. Martha shrugged her shoulders. "If I'm right then I think I might,".

"You seem very confident about that," Martha replied not giving anything away.

"Well let's look at the evidence, shall we? You come all the way up here after only receiving a text from me. Then you check into the hotel pretending to be my wife, so you obviously don't hate me too much. Lastly," he added as he took Martha's wine glass from her, "you decide to drive me wild and tease me by sitting there dressed only in a dressing gown," he finished as he placed the glass on the table and turned to face Martha. "Tell me I'm wrong," he challenged as he moved closer and looked her in the eye.

Martha stared back. She didn't want to admit it, but Clive had been correct in his summation. She couldn't let him know that he was right. "You might not be right about what I'm wearing," she sassed.

"Guess I'll have to find out then," he murmured as he leant in towards Martha looking at her lips. Martha didn't pull away but watched as he moved closer. His lips finally touched hers and Martha closed her eyes and fell into the kiss. If she was honest, she had wanted this for a little while. She wasn't sure when her feelings for Clive had changed from those of friendship but she knew she had been a tiny bit jealous of George Duggan, Clive's last girlfriend.

"I knew I was right," she heard Clive whisper as the kiss came to a natural conclusion. She looked down to find she had been so engrossed in the kiss, she had failed to notice that Clive had undone her gown and allowed his hands to wander. He leant in again ready to continue where they had just left off, but this time Martha pulled away a little just as he was about to touch her lips.

"I thought you wanted to explore Manchester tonight," she teased.

"We can do that tomorrow Marth," he argued. In the last couple of minutes he'd had a massive change of heart about staying in the hotel. "I'm knackered if I'm honest, couldn't even make it to the hotel restaurant. Think room service is all I'm up for tonight,".

"By the feel of it, that's not all you're 'up' for," Martha observed with a smile.

Clive grinned and lunged forward to kiss Martha again and she offered no resistance. "Well I think it only right to perform my husbandly duties and consummate our marriage," he explained. After taking Martha's participation in the following kiss as her consent he stood up bringing Martha with him and bent down to pick her up.

"Clive what are you doing?" She laughed. "Put me down,".

"Trying to carry you over the threshold but improvising," he explained as he headed to the bedroom and closed the door behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

A knock at the door to his suite woke Clive up the next morning although it took another knock for him to work it out. He didn't want to get out of the lovely warm bed, especially as there was also a naked woman in it fast asleep, but hopefully the interruption could be dealt with quickly and he could get back to Martha.

It had been quite a night after he had carried Martha into the bedroom. Of course there had been sex, but there had also been heart felt discussions between the pair and Clive had been ecstatic to find out that Martha was in love with him as well. He finally had everything he had ever wanted, especially when they had decided to give a relationship a go and he was determined not to spoil it. The long distance between them for the next couple of months was a perfect chance to start their relationship slowly and in secret, without the watchful eye of Billy always a threat.

Another knock sounded, this time disturbing Martha who started to stretch as she woke. Giving her bare shoulder a little kiss to still her and convey to her that he had everything under control, Clive got out the bed and found a dressing gown before closing the bedroom door and heading to the front door of his suite. It was probably a member of staff although he had made sure to hang a 'Do not disturb' sign on the door at some point last night.

But it wasn't a member of staff. It was Nicola. "Morning," she said once Clive had opened the door.

"Um, morning," Clive replied, tying the dressing gown even tighter around him. "Had we arranged to meet?" He asked, unsure for the reason for the early morning wake up call.

"No, but I thought it would be a good idea to catch up on the case. Get an idea of what is going to be covered next week, that sort of thing," Nicola explained. "Perhaps we could do it over breakfast?".

"How about coffee?" Clive suggested as he opened the door further to let her in.

"That could work as well," Nicola replied in a rather flirtatious way as she sauntered past Clive and made herself comfortable in the sitting area.

"Do you mind making it whilst I put some clothes on?" Clive asked as he headed to the bedroom. He was acutely aware he was naked underneath the dressing gown and wasn't comfortable at all staying in the attire. Getting changed would also give him a chance to speak to Martha and let her know what was going on so she wouldn't embarrass herself by disturbing the meeting and exposing the fact she had stayed the night.

"Don't get changed on my account," he heard Nicola purr.

The solicitor was pulling out all the stops. Harriet had told her that if she played her cards right, Clive would most likely bed her from what she had heard about his past. She had been interested immediately and looked like she was making progress if this morning was anything to go by. She planned on trying to spend most of the weekend with the attractive barrister which would hopefully also include Sunday night and Monday morning as well.

Clive didn't acknowledge her remark, instead he escaped into his bedroom as fast as he could, making sure the door closed firmly behind him. Picking yesterday's boxer briefs off the floor he put them on before quickly looking for a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. Once he was dressed he knelt by Martha's side of the bed.

"Marth," he whispered as he shook her shoulder. She woke after a little encouragement.

"What?" She replied quietly having seen Clive put his fingers to his lips to indicate she needed to be quiet.

"Nicola's here to discuss the trial or something," he informed her.

"'Or something, is probably more accurate," Martha replied, aware she sounded a little jealous. She wasn't blind, she had seen the CPS solicitor batting her eyelashes at Clive at his Silk party and she didn't want anyone trespassing on her recently acquired property.

"Marth, I'm not interested in the 'or something' ok?" Clive said, trying to reassure her. "I'll try and get rid of her as soon as I can," he promised. Last night they had discussed their weekend plans and Clive wanted to get back on track as soon as possible.

"Ok," Martha replied before pulling Clive towards her for a brief kiss before settling back to sleep. Clive may have to be awake but she hadn't got much sleep last night and was going to try and do a bit of catching up whilst the 'meeting' was going on.

* * *

An hour later and Clive and Nicola's meeting was coming to an end. It had gone on much longer than Clive expected and to him had been a bit unnecessary, but he didn't want to upset Nicola by complaining. By the sounds of it, if he did well in this case the CPS would be employing him a lot more often in the future.

"What are you doing for the rest of the weekend?" Nicola asked. "Perhaps we could explore Manchester together?". She caught Clive shoot a glance at the bedroom as she asked her question and she immediately realised that they were not alone. Clive had spent the night with a woman and she was still in the bedroom. It appeared Harriet had made a very big mistake.

"Um, I'm afraid I have plans," Clive explained.

"Oh well," Nicola said standing. She was very keen to get out of the room and this whole embarrassing situation as soon as possible. "I'll see you Monday morning then," she continued as she picked up her belongings and headed for the door.

Passing by the hotel reception on her way out, Nicola couldn't resist the opportunity to see if she was correct about a woman spending the night with Clive.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist enquired once Nicola had reached the desk.

"Do you know if Mr Reader is in his room?" The solicitor enquired. "He said something about a visitor this weekend?".

"I believe his wife is staying with him this weekend, but as far as I know they're both still in. I can call their room if you'd like?".

"His wife?" Repeated Nicola.

"Yes,".

"Of course. Don't worry, I won't bother them. I'll contact him on Monday," she finished as she left the desk and headed out the hotel. She would be phoning Harriet later to discuss her barristers behaviour.

Back in the penthouse suite Clive had shed his clothes and crawled back into the warm bed with Martha. She still appeared fast asleep although she made it clear she wasn't as his arms snaked round her waist.

"That was a bloody long meeting. What on earth did she have to discuss?" Martha asked.

"Not really sure," Clive confessed. "But I don't want her spoiling the rest of the weekend. How about being a bit decadent and ordering some room service, eating breakfast in bed before you show me what Manchester has to offer?".

"Sounds like a plan," Martha agreed before winding her arms around Clive's neck and bringing him in for his second kiss that morning.

* * *

"Morning!" Greeted Martha as she stepped into the clerk's office bright and early the following Monday morning. She was in an extremely good mood after the weekend.

She and Clive had had an amazing time exploring Manchester. She had taken him to all the spots she had frequented as a student as well as other well known places. Sunday had been spent mostly in bed before Martha had to catch the train home, but not before they had agreed how and where to spend the next couple of weekends. Their fledgling relationship was getting off to a good start.

"Morning, Miss," replied Billy. "Looks like the long weekend did you the world of good," the clerk remarked and Martha nodded. "At least someone is in a good mood this morning,".

"Oh?".

"Yes. The wicked witch of the west is in a foul temper,".

"Billy, how many times do I have to remind you not to call her that!" Martha warned, but she was interested to know what was troubling the practice manager.

"Seems Mr Reader's up to his usual tricks and met some nice northern Doris which has got right in the way of Miss Hammond's matchmaking attempts with him and the CPS bird,".

"Really?" Enquired Martha trying not to act too suspicious whilst at the same time wondering how on earth this news had become known. Thankfully by the sound of it no one knew she was the mystery lady. Billy filled her in with what Nicola had discovered and relayed to Harriet.

"Yep. And they're telling everyone they are married apparently which has gone down like a lead balloon with Harriet. Never thought I'd say this but God Bless Mr Reader!".

"Where is Harriet now?" Martha asked anxiously.

"Giving Mr Reader a piece of her mind I think," Billy answered and Martha felt quite sorry for Clive. She would phone him as soon as she could. It was her fault about him having a wife so she would apologise.

A stomping of heels heralded Harriet's arrival into the room. "Speak of the devil," Billy muttered. "Mr Reader enjoying married life?" He directed towards the newcomer in a false caring tone.

"Shut up, Billy! He won't listen to anything I have to say. Apparently he's very serious about her. He hasn't said anything to you has he about a new woman?" Harriet said, directing the last question at Martha.

"No," Martha lied. Harriet obviously wasn't happy with the answer because she stomped out the room as quickly as she had come.

The room was filling up with the junior clerks as they made their way into work so Martha turned her conversation to work related matters. "Billy, has Alan come in yet?".

"Not yet. He's not in court today so I think he's getting in a bit later than usual,".

"Ok. I was thinking of having that conversation with him this morning, if it's ok with you," Martha told Billy. She wasn't looking forward to it, but knew it had to be done.

"Fine," replied Billy.

* * *

"How are you?" Martha asked Clive down the phone once she had made her way back to her office.

"I'll survive although I may be permanently deaf in one ear with all her shouting,".

"I'm sorry. I'm partly to blame for all of this," she apologised.

"You can make it up to me this weekend," Clive teased. Martha was going to go back to Manchester and spend it with Clive again.

"I think I have a lot to make up for. You and your mystery wife are the talk of chambers today. Nobody is talking about anything else,".

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Clive continued teasing.

"Is it wrong that I'm feeling a little smug, walking around under their noses with nobody suspecting anything. They all think you've met someone up there,".

A knock sounded on the office door. "Come in," Martha responded.

Bethany entered. "Sorry, miss. It's just to let you know your con has arrived,".

"Thank you," Martha replied. "I've got to go," she said into the phone. "Speak to you later," she finished before hanging up.

"Mr Reader?" Asked Bethany.

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess with all the gossip this morning,".

"Thought I'd see how he was doing after Harriet's tongue lashing,".

"Has he let slip anything about this mystery woman?".

"No. He was keeping his cards very close to his chest on that," Martha lied.

* * *

Heading into the clerks room after her con had finished, Martha was intent on fetching Billy before going to have her overdue talk with Alan about his son. As soon as she walked into the room she picked up on the excitement coming from the clerks for some particular reason.

"What's going on?" Martha asked.

"I've managed to get the hotel receptionist to let slip some information about Mr Reader's 'wife'," Jake answered, feeling very proud of himself and enjoying all the attention from the other clerks.

Alarm bells started ringing in Martha's head, wondering if she was about to be exposed as the mystery woman. At the same time she also wanted to find out what they knew. "And?" She asked, probing for information.

"Blonde," Jake replied.

"That's not really surprising," Martha rebutted. Clive had had numerous girlfriends throughout the years and apart from George, the vast majority were blonde.

"And she has a Manchester accent,".

"Obviously as he's in Manchester!" She interrupted again. "And...?"

"That's all I managed to find out," Jake admitted a little deflated now.

"That's it?!" Martha asked, quite relieved her cover hadn't been blown. "Not really narrowed it down, but I suppose it's a start, Jake,".

"Glad to see everyone's working hard," the head of chambers announced as he entered the clerks room. "Something going on that I should know about?". He had also picked up on the excitement in the room.

"Your newest QC has a new woman in his life," Billy revealed.

"As long as it's not a pupil of ours he's involved with this time, I couldn't really care " Alan remarked as he headed out the room as quickly as he had entered, making a beeline for his office.

"Can I borrow you for half an hour or so, Billy?" Asked Martha knowing she could delay no more. It was time to tell her head of chambers about his son's illness.


	3. Chapter 3

_'Just told Alan about David'_ Martha texted to Clive. She didn't know whether he was able to talk or not so had thought a text was safer. The message hadn't long been sent before her phone was ringing into life.

"How did it go?" Clive asked as soon as Martha had answered.

"Better than I thought it would. He had sort of worked it out himself over the weekend, I was just confirming his suspicions really," Martha replied, reliving the whole conversation in her head.

She hadn't really thought about how Alan would react when she broke the news. He had accepted it quietly before telling Martha and Billy how he had caught David talking to himself a few times over the weekend. Before she knew it, her head of chambers burst into tears as he realised his son was ill and the long journey ahead of them to get him better. Martha had left him with Billy before quietly heading out his office and leaving the two of them alone.

"Well at least it's done, Marth and Alan can look at getting David the help he needs," Clive reminded her.

"Yeah, I suppose," Martha sighed.

"C'mon Marth. It'll be alright, you'll see,".

"I know. I just wish you were here. I think I could do with one of your hugs, that's all,".

"Only four days to wait," Clive reminded her. "What time are you getting up here do you think?".

"Hopefully be there by nine," Martha replied.

"I'll be there to meet you," Clive informed her. "And we can go for a late dinner from there,".

"Sounds good," Martha responded, wishing it was nearer to Friday than Monday afternoon.

* * *

The week went quickly and Martha soon found herself back on the train travelling North. Clive was there to meet her as he promised he would. He saw her first and got her attention. Martha headed towards him as soon as she had gone through the ticket barrier.

"Hi!" Clive greeted as he swept her up for a hug before giving her a kiss. It wasn't a kiss between friends either. Any of the commuters passing them by could tell they were in a romantic relationship.

"Um, I thought we were trying to keep this a secret," Martha commented as they pulled apart. "What if Nicola's keeping an eye on you to report back to mission control in London?".

"We don't need to worry about that this weekend. I personally put her on a train back to London about half an hour ago. She's attending a friends party or something," Clive informed her as he took her hand and suitcase and escorted her out the station.

They headed to a restaurant where Clive had reserved a table. It was one he had been recommended by a local and had tried it by himself during the week.

"I've got something for you," Clive said after they had ordered their meals.

"Really?" Replied Martha wondering what his surprise was. She definitely wasn't expecting the small ring box he removed from his jacket pocket. He handed the box to Martha and she carefully opened it to reveal a platinum coloured wedding set of wedding and engagement rings. She raised her eyebrows in a startled question to the man sitting opposite her.

"They're only cheap but look quite convincing don't you think? Just thought you could wear them when you come up here. Keep the pretence up that we are married,".

Laughing, Martha slipped them on to her finger. "I see you also want to show people that you can afford an expensive engagement ring. That's quite a big stone, Clive," Martha commented on the fake engagement ring. "You're setting the bar very high. If you ever do buy me a real one, I will be expecting something as large, just so you know,".

* * *

The next couple of weekends passed in much the same manner with one of them making the trip to the other. Martha was pleasantly surprised how easily they had made the transition from friends to lovers and their relationship went from strength to strength. Even when they weren't together during the week, they spoke to each other every day on the phone. Their mobile phone bills were going to be huge.

The interest in the relationship from the clerks and practise manager didn't abate either. They were still trying to work out the identity of the mystery woman who seemed to have tamed the male barrister and frustratingly kept drawing a blank. Mr Reader couldn't be tricked into revealing any information and the hotel staff couldn't offer anything either- Martha and Clive were very careful not to divulge her name in front of them.

It was Bethany who eventually worked it out. She was helping Martha with a new case, acting as her junior after impressing Martha in the role the first time they had worked together on the Ricky Armitage case.

"Any plans for the weekend, Miss?" Asked Bethany one Friday as Martha approached Shoe Lane. They had just been to a con in a prison and Martha was dropping the clerk off before heading off for the weekend.

Clive had splashed out on a room in a hotel in the Cotswolds for the pair of them. He had said it was to celebrate the three month anniversary of telling her he was in love with her. Martha didn't really care about the reason, she was just looking forward to the mini holiday. Nobody would know they weren't married and they could just relax and be themselves. She was picturing walks in the countryside, cream teas and nights in cosy pubs by the fireplace.

"I'm off to the Cotswolds actually," Martha replied. "Meeting a friend who's in Manchester. We thought it was sort of half way between us," she continued truthfully, just not admitting who her friend was.

"Sounds nice," commented Bethany as the car came to a stop near Middle Temple Lane. "You coming in, Miss?" She asked as she started to exit the car.

"Not tonight. I want to get home, pack and get on my way,".

"Ok. I'll see you Monday. Hope you have a nice weekend," Bethany finished before closing the door. She watched from the pavement as the car indicated before pulling away into the sea of traffic before she turned and headed to chambers.

The clerks room was busy with everyone making sure everything was ready for the new working week before leaving for the weekend. Billy was checking on the juniors, making sure all the new cases had been assigned to a barrister. He spotted Bethany enter the room.

"Alright, Beth?" He asked. "Your case with Miss Costello going ok?".

"Yes. Everything looks good for court next week,".

"Excellent," praised Billy. "Everyone hear that? I want everyone as prepared as young Beth there for next week,".

"I've got interesting news from Manchester," Jake announced to the room as he put the phone receiver down. He had just been on the phone to their QC in Manchester in their weekly phone call. Being away for four months he was kept up to date on things from Shoe Lane whilst informing his workplace of the progress on his trial.

"Do tell," replied Billy.

"He's taking the mysterious Mrs Reader away for the weekend. A trip to the Cotswolds apparently,".

"Things really are getting serious if he's taking her away for a weekend. I don't recall him ever doing that before with any of his previous conquests," mused Billy aloud. "More a 'love 'em and leave 'em' type of gentleman is Mr Reader,".

Bethany stopped what she was doing at the mention of the Cotswolds. That was the second time she had heard the area mentioned in the last fifteen minutes. Surely it wasn't a coincidence? The more she thought about it, the more the pieces of the puzzle all fit together. Miss Costello had to be 'Mrs Reader'. She was blonde. And she had a Manchester accent. And she and Mr Reader were friends. Bethany also knew they fancied one another. She hadn't been at Shoe Lane all that long before she had worked that one out. It had been completely obvious...to a girl anyway. The boys and men she worked with were completely oblivious to it.

It looked like someone had obviously decided to make a move and they were in a relationship. She decided then and there that she would keep their little secret. Bethany was quite a romantic at heart and she was rooting for them. They made a lovely couple she thought, and from the little bits of information they had gathered, the relationship seemed to be going well.

"You alright, Beth?" Billy asked, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Yes,".

"You're sat there with a silly little grin on your face, lost in your own world. Care to share?".

"No. Just happy it's Friday, that's all," she muttered, trying not to flush with embarrassment as she usually did when she told a lie.

"Ok. Well off you go and enjoy yourself," Billy instructed and Beth did just that.

* * *

Monday morning arrived and found Martha working in the chambers library with Bethany. From the big smile on Martha's face and her good mood, it wasn't hard for Bethany to work out the weekend in the Cotswolds had gone well. Despite her best intentions Bethany was finding it quite hard to concentrate on her work, wondering whether she should let the female barrister know that she knew her secret.

The weekend had indeed been a success. Martha and Clive had had a wonderful time spending quality time together with neither having any work to do, and in a place where they could just be themselves without wondering if anyone was spying on them.

"I take it the weekend was nice?" Bethany commented.

"Yes. Very,".

"You're the mysterious Mrs Reader, aren't you miss?" Asked Bethany, having decided it best to come clean. Martha paused in her activity and looked at the clerk. "Don't worry, miss. I'm not going to tell anyone. I just thought it best that you know that I know,".

"Why do you say that?" Martha wanted to know.

"Well you mentioned the Cotswolds to me on Friday and then when I got back here, Mr Reader had also mentioned it to Jake,".

"Did he?" Asked Martha. Clive hadn't mentioned it over the weekend. They were definitely going to have to be more careful what they told people or other people were going to work it out before long.

"Yes. And then I realised you fit the description of Mrs Reader that we got from the hotel. I am right aren't I, miss?".

"Yes," Martha confessed. It was pointless denying it. "Why aren't you going to tell anyone. You could be in Billy's or Harriet's good books for ages if you did,".

"I like you and Mr Reader and things are obviously going very well. You've been a lot happier than normal, and Mr Reader sounds happy whenever I speak to him on the phone. You suit each other very well,".

"Thank you, Bethany," replied Martha.

They carried on working for a bit longer before Bethany had another question. "Is Mr Reader a good boyfriend then Miss?" She asked with a giggle.

Martha giggled as well. "Better than I thought he would be," she admitted with a blush. It was nice to talk to someone about the relationship and there was precious little women talk that went on in chambers as there were so few of them. "He's not that bad in bed either!".

"Miss!" Said Bethany shocked.

"Like you weren't wondering about that part of our relationship," Martha argued and she knew she was right when Bethany flushed bright red.

"You know it might be good that I know," reasoned Bethany. "I can pass messages on to each of you or let you know how the rest of them are getting on at discovering your identity,".

"You might be right," answered Martha. Bethany was to be proved right a couple of weeks later when she was needed in the role of peace keeper.


	4. Chapter 4

Martha and Clive's first major argument occurred after the wedding of one of Clive's friends. Martha had always been reticent about agreeing to go, not knowing anyone else and worrying about how they would like her were her main reasons in declining, but Clive had eventually persuaded her to go. As it grew closer however, she wished she hadn't promised.

She was in the middle of a big case and she could have really done with a weekend working on her closing speech that was due to happen on the Monday morning. But she had promised Clive that she would go and it was a bit late to go back on that promise so she went along, although she warned Clive she would be leaving early on the Sunday morning.

Clive agreed with her condition. He was just happy that she was going with him and would be able to show her off to everyone. For a long time he had been the only one of his group of university friends not to have a steady partner and he was teased about it. This wedding would be different though.

* * *

The first part of the weekend went well. They met Friday evening and went to the wedding together. The ceremony and reception were ok and all Clive's friends were very welcoming. It was after the meal had finished that things had gone wrong. Clive and his mates all drifted off and started a drinking session at the bar, leaving the women who had little in common together. There was a bit of conversation between the women, but it was stilted and they soon gave up.

Martha didn't really mind, it was an excuse to get an early night. Heading to the bar on the way upstairs, she found Clive and his slightly inebriated mates sat around a table. "I'm off to bed," she told him. "Don't be too late because I'm up early,".

"I know. Won't be long," Clive replied and Martha headed up to their room.

Unfortunately however, Clive had soon lost track of time with each round of drinks that were bought. The drinking session turned into a very long one and it was nearly three am in the morning before Clive stumbled into the room. Martha had been asleep for a couple of hours but was woken during Clive's attempt at undressing in his drunken stupor. Once down to his underpants he collapsed into bed and fell asleep within minutes.

Martha was left listening to his snores and grunts, becoming more annoyed with him the more sleep evaded her. This was precisely what she had wanted to avoid with the work she had to do later that day. She must have fallen asleep at some point however as the next thing she knew it was light. Looking at the clock it was 8:30 am and time for her to be getting up. Looking at her bedfellow it was obvious he wasn't going to be awake any time soon...and frankly she didn't want him awake. She was going to leave him here and go home by herself. Let him sort his own way back to Manchester after the way he had behaved last night.

Going down to breakfast in the hotel, it was evident that all of Clive's friends had done the same thing and hadn't impressed their wives or partners either. None of the men were awake, sleeping off their hangovers instead. Martha finished her breakfast and managed to pack without waking Clive and she was on her way home by the time he woke.

The need to use the toilet was the reason for Clive waking and he clumsily made his way to the bathroom, the world spinning a bit now he was vertical. He was in dire need of water if his dry mouth and tongue were anything to go by he realised as he relieved himself. He also slowly realised that none of Martha's things were in the bathroom anymore. Finishing in the bathroom he hurried into the main room and saw all her other things had gone as well.

Looking at the clock he saw the time and realised he was in deep trouble. It was 10:30. Martha had wanted to get away by 10:00 and she had obviously done just that. Picking up his phone he rang her number but it went straight to answerphone. She was probably still driving so he left an apology and asked her to phone him when she could.

Fifty phone calls and text messages later and he realised she wouldn't be phoning him back. She was ignoring him which was probably well deserved after he had basically ignored her for most of the wedding where she didn't know anyone. He had a lot of grovelling to do to get back in her good books he began to realise.

* * *

Monday morning arrived and Clive had become very familiar with Martha's answerphone message as all his calls continued to be ignored. He decided to try something different and phoned Shoe Lane hoping it would be Bethany who answered. Martha had told him that she knew about their relationship and he was hoping she could put in a good word for him. Luck was on his side as indeed it was Bethany who took his call.

"Um, is Marth there, Bethany?" Clive asked.

"No Sir. She went straight to court this morning without coming here first, and she's still there. The jury are deliberating after closing speeches and there might be a verdict today,".

"Right. Um, can you get her to call me when she comes back," Clive asked. "I've been trying all weekend but she's not answering me,".

"Have you had a falling out?" Asked Bethany, detecting a lot of misery in the male barristers voice for the first time in a long time.

"You could say that," Clive replied. "I just want to talk to her and tell her how sorry I am, but she's not having any of it. I think I might have blown it, Bethany,".

"Think positive, sir," Bethany encouraged. "As soon as I see her I'll try and get her to phone you," she promised. "I'm sure it'll be better once you've spoken to each other,".

* * *

Martha was obviously in a bad mood when she returned to chambers in the late afternoon. It was a surprise to everyone except Bethany.

"Why is Miss Costello in such a bad mood?" Asked Jake as another door slam echoed throughout the building which had been initiated by Martha. "She won her case right?".

"PMT, Jakey boy," answered Billy confidently.

"Why is that always put down as the reason for a woman's bad mood?" Piped up Bethany. "Maybe Miss Costello is upset about something?".

"But as Jake pointed out, she won her case Beth. She has nothing to be upset about," Billy replied.

"Work is not the be all and end all of everything," Bethany argued.

"It is where Miss Costello is concerned," replied Billy again, very confidently.

Bethany so wanted to tell him he was wrong, but by doing that she would reveal all about Mr Reader and Miss Costello's relationship, so she stayed quiet.

"Tell you what though, Beth," Billy commented, "I'll let you try and prove me wrong. I nominate you to go into the lions den and try and remove the thorn from her paw which she has obviously stood on whilst making her way back from the Bailey,".

Bethany accepted his challenge and left the room. It gave her the perfect opportunity to relay Mr Reader's message so hopefully they could patch their misunderstanding up. Making a detour to the coffee room, she made the female QC a cup of tea before taking it to her room.

"Come in," barked Martha in response to Bethany's knock.

"I brought you a cup of tea, miss," said Bethany as she entered the room. "And to say congratulations on your win,".

"Thanks Bethany," Martha replied, her temper subsiding a bit.

"Um, Mr Reader also phoned," Bethany started.

"Did he?" Interrupted Martha.

"Says he's been trying to contact you but you aren't answering,". As if on cue, Martha's phone started ringing. She picked it up, looked at the caller ID and immediately put it on call divert.

"That's 110 times he's tried phoning me since yesterday afternoon," Martha informed the clerk.

"Right," replied Bethany nervously. What had Mr Reader done to piss Miss Costello off so badly? "Well he says he's really sorry about whatever it is that he's done and please can you phone him so that he can tell that to you directly,".

"I will Bethany, just not here. It might get quite heated and something might be overheard by someone I don't want hearing it,".

"Ok, miss," answered Bethany, relieved that they were going to talk. "I hope you can make it up because you are both so miserable today,".

"I am miserable," Martha agreed. "He totally ruined the weekend,".

Over the cup of tea, Martha explained her side of the story whilst Bethany listened. She had been worried that the male barrister had done something awful such as sleeping with another woman, but thankfully it sounded more forgivable than that.

"He's so worried that you are going to finish things with him," Bethany revealed.

"It's not a terminal offence. I just want to make him sweat a bit and recognise what an arse he's been," Martha answered. It definitely looked like they would make things up.

"The boys and Billy sent me in to find out what was wrong," Bethany mentioned as the conversation came to an end.

"Let me guess," Martha said. "PMT?".

"Yes," answered Bethany. "What shall I tell them?".

"Oh let them think they're right, Bethany. I don't mind. I think I'm going to head home and phone Clive,".

"Ok, miss,".

"Well?" Asked Billy when Bethany returned to the clerks room. "What was the matter with our lovely Miss Costello?".

"PMT," replied Bethany.

"I told you Beth. I am always right. Especially when it comes to my barristers," he answered smugly.

* * *

Martha got Clive's answer phone when she tried phoning Clive. It was very frustrating she realised as she received a dose of her own medicine. She left a message and started making her meal. Halfway through her cooking her front doorbell rang and she went to answer it a little mystified at who it could be.

She was met with the sight of Clive holding the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.

"What are you doing here?" She asked surprised.

"You weren't answering any of my calls so I thought I would come and see you. Force you to hear my apology,".

"I could shut the door on you," Martha threatened.

"Please don't," Clive replied, not realising she had been joking. "I really am sorry, Marth. Please forgive me," he pleaded with his puppy dog eyes working overtime.

Martha found them hard to resist and opened the door wider to let him in. "Come in," she informed him. "I tried phoning you earlier. I figured one hundred and fifty calls was enough to ignore,".

"I'll keep that in mind next time I screw up," Clive remarked as he entered the flat and handed the bouquet over. Martha led the way to the kitchen and started to put the flowers in some water whilst Clive watched. "That weekend wasn't great was it?" He observed.

"You could say that," Martha answered, her attention on arranging the flowers in the vase.

"I was an idiot,".

"Yep,".

"I really am sorry, Marth,".

"So you keep saying," she replied, her attention still on the flowers.

"Marth, I have to know, have I totally spoilt things between us?" Clive asked nervously. He had been hoping she would be slightly happier to see him than she appeared to be. She couldn't even look at him by all accounts.

"Do you want that?" Martha asked, finally looking at Clive.

"God no! I love you, Marth. I'm really sorry and I'm trying everything I can to apologise. I want us to make up and move on. Did I mention that I love you, Marth?".

"Just a couple of times," Martha smiled as she returned her attention to the flowers. "Lucky for you then that I still love you too," she admitted deciding she had kept him hanging long enough. She instantly found herself in Clive's embrace.

"I'm so glad to hear that," he told her. "I will never ever do anything like that again, I promise,".

"I know," Martha replied as she returned his hug. "Thank you for the flowers by the way, they're lovely,".

"Glad you like them. I've never really bought flowers for a woman before, except for my mother of course,".

"Never?" Asked Martha incredulously. "You've never had to say sorry to a girlfriend before?".

"Don't really have many arguments with a one night stand," Clive admitted. "Any relationship that lasted longer than that and we broke up at the first fight. This is the longest relationship I've ever been in, Marth, and I don't want to mess it up,".

"What time is your train back?" Asked Martha as she wound her arms around Clive's neck. Now he was here she was hoping they could enjoy each other's company a bit more before he had to go and make up for the weekend.

"Five am tomorrow morning. I didn't know how long it would take to win you over," Clive answered.

"Not very long by the looks of it," Martha murmured as she nuzzled his neck. "That means we've got all night for your first experience of make up sex," she purred as she led him to the bedroom.

"I've heard it's very enjoyable," he replied, willingly following.

"Very," Martha added as she closed the bedroom door behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

"This time in two weeks, my trial will have finally finished and I'll be back in London," Clive informed Martha as they lay in bed on another Saturday morning in Manchester.

"And time to let everyone know that I'm Mrs Reader and that we've been in a relationship for the last four months,". For both of them this was a serious relationship and that meant finally going public.

"Who do you think out of Billy and Harriet is going to take the news best?" Clive asked out loud as he gently rubbed Martha's arm.

"Not sure. Harriet hates me so she isn't going to be thrilled that I'm the one who got in the way of her matchmaking plan between you and Nicola. And Billy will play the 'hurt and upset' card because we haven't let him in on our secret," Martha summarised.

"So we could actually be responsible for making them join forces and become friends?".

"It would have to be very bad for Billy to start getting on with Harriet even the smallest amount. They are constantly at each other's throats at the moment, fighting for control of the clerks room,".

"Maybe we don't have to tell them then, Marth. Maybe they accidentally walk in on us while we're having sex in our office or something?" He teased.

"Yeah, because that'll make the news much easier to take," she scoffed. "Trust you to bring it back to sex though,".

"It was just an idea,".

"And it will remain one. We are not going to be having sex in our office just so you know," Martha retorted, laying down the law. "Speaking of sex, have you recovered yet? Can we go downstairs for breakfast, I'm hungry!" She complained as she sat up in bed before turning to look at Clive.

Before Clive could answer, the room phone by the side of the bed rang and Clive extended an arm to pick up the receiver. Martha flopped back onto her pillow. Breakfast was going to be delayed a bit longer,".

"Hello?" She heard Clive say. It wasn't good news on the other end of the phone judging by the look on Clive's face. A strangled "thank you" was the last thing he said before hanging up the phone and jumping out of bed.

"What's the matter?" Martha asked.

"That was reception. Jake's downstairs and he's on his way up,".

"Shit!" Was Martha's reply as she joined Clive in shooting out of bed and hurriedly getting dressed.

* * *

The surprise visit had been John's suggestion. As per usual on Friday night, the clerks had gone out for a quick drink before heading home and weekend plans had been discussed. West Ham were playing Manchester United in the Premiership and Jake was travelling north to see his beloved team play the football giants in the early kick off.

"You could get there even earlier," John had proposed. "Pay a surprise visit to Mr and Mrs Reader,". It was no secret that the couple were spending every weekend together now.

"That is an excellent idea, John," Billy agreed. Time was quickly running out on finding out the identity of Mr Reader's Manchurian girlfriend as his trial was nearly over and Billy was determined he would not be beaten in finding out her identity. "An unplanned visit could finally reveal who this mysterious lady is,".

Very proud of themselves, the three men then put their heads together and hatched a plan. Jake would catch a morning train to the northern city and unexpectedly drop in on the barrister. A story of giving Mr Reader some legal papers should get him past reception and up to the hotel suite in question. If he got there early enough, 'Mrs Reader' would hopefully still be in the room and the game would be over.

They practically ignored Bethany who sat beside them. She listened in intently on their plans however. As soon as she was alone, she would text Miss Costello to inform her of the impending visit and hopefully give her time to escape being found out.

* * *

Clutching a large envelope that contained a bit of correspondence for Mr Reader, although nothing as important as he had told the receptionist, Jake made his way to the top floor in the lift. The closer he got to the floor in question, the more excited he got. He was going to be the one to find out Mrs Reader's identity first and everyone would be wanting to talk to him about it at work on Monday.

As he approached the room, he knew he was in luck. The sound of a man and woman's voice could be heard talking. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited for the door to open.

"Jake!" Greeted Clive looking quite relaxed, Jake thought. "Another visitor from Shoe Lane. I am a popular person today,". Clive stood back allowing Jake a good look around the room.

There on the couch with her back to the door sat a blonde haired woman. However, a look of disappointment appeared on his face when she turned to greet the new visitor.

"Oh it's you, miss," Jake said sullenly.

"It's nice to see you too, Jake," Martha greeted.

"Sorry, miss," apologised the young clerk. "I thought you might have been the mysterious Mrs Reader for an instant then,".

"Sorry," Martha apologised, hoping that Jake wouldn't work it out. They had quickly come up with a plan whilst getting dressed. She had found her phone which had been on silent since she had been with Clive and seen multiple texts and missed calls from Bethany warning her of the surprise visit.

"She was here not very long ago," mentioned Clive unable to resist dangling that juicy bit of information in front of the clerk, "but she had to go a bit earlier than expected this morning," he added. Martha stared pointedly at him, worried he was going to blow their cover, but he ignored her. Jake was quite dense most of the time. He would never work it out. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this morning?".

"Just this," replied Jake giving him the envelope in his hands. He stayed rooted to the spot at the door, not quite sure what to do. He had a couple of hours now to kill before the match started.

"Can I offer you a coffee like Martha?".

"Yeah, ok," Jake replied and slowly walked into the room. "So what are you doing here then, miss?" Asked Jake as he took a seat next to her on the sofa.

"All the talk of Manchester that is going on in chambers at the moment has made me rather home sick. Thought I'd visit my mum," Martha explained.

"Are you from Manchester, miss?" Jake asked. "I thought it was Bolton,".

"Where do you think Bolton is, Jake?" Questioned Martha. Jake just shrugged his shoulders. He had absolutely no idea. "Twenty minute train journey from here," he was informed. "I can't go direct from London. Thought I'd pay a quick visit to Mr Reader to see how he's liking Manchester before heading there,".

Jake accepted this story as highly plausible and for the next thirty minutes the work colleagues chatted over their drinks. It was mainly Martha and Clive who did the talking, Jake was a little nervous never really having talked to the two barristers before apart from about work.

Once the drinks were finished, Jake quickly departed. "Do you think he believed my story?" Martha asked anxiously as Clive bolted the door behind the departing clerk.

"Of course, he did," Clive answered confidently. "This is Jake we are talking about. He's not the brightest cookie in the box, is he?".

"No, but he's been hanging around Billy for too long. Picking up his clerking habits,".

"I really don't think we have anything to worry about," Clive repeated taking Martha in for a comforting hug.

"Guess we'll find out on Monday when I get into work," Martha replied.

"So what if everyone knows anyway?" Clive asked. "We're going to be telling them in two weeks,".

"But I want to tell them when we are ready. Not when they've found us out,".

* * *

Monday morning arrived and Martha braced herself for what may lie ahead of her. Taking a deep breath she pulled open the front door and headed inside. She hadn't got that far before Billy pounced on her.

"Ah miss. A word please!" he said as he pointed at her office and headed inside. She dutifully followed. Once inside she deposited her bag on the top of her desk and took her usual seat behind her desk. She didn't speak though. Billy wanted this meeting so he was going to have to tell her what it was all about. Like many of the guilty people she had defended in the past she wasn't going to confess to anything until there was undeniable proof placed in front of her.

"I know what's going on, miss," Billy said, not looking very impressed at Martha.

"And what is that then?" Martha asked and braced herself.

"You're spying on us for Mr Reader," Billy stated and Martha relaxed. Bless Jake and his dimwittedness. He obviously believed everything they had told him at the weekend. Billy must have come up with this theory when told of Jake's failure at surprising the new couple.

"No I'm not,".

"Jake said you were in Mr Reader's room on Saturday morning,".

"Guilty as charged,".

"Giving them notice of Jake's impending visit so Mrs Reader could scarper, I'm thinking,".

"Don't be silly, Billy,".

"Silly? No miss. I'm hurt actually, that after all these years of me looking after you so well, you decide to pay me back with this...treachery!". Martha rolled her eyes at Billy's melodramatics. She decided to interrupt him before he went too over the top.

"Billy, I didn't even know about Jake's visit. I wasn't there when you planned it!" Martha pointed out. Billy realised she was right.

"Fine!" Billy said. "But you haven't fooled me. There is something going on between you and Mr and Mrs Reader. I know there is!" He said before leaving Martha alone.

"More than you know," Martha said to herself.

Outside the office, Billy had a sudden brainwave. He knew exactly how to get Mr Reader back. He walked almost with a bounce in his step back to his desk. Logging onto the personnel files of his staff he found the telephone number he was looking for.

* * *

Returning from court later that day, Martha headed to the clerks room as was her usual habit. It was always good to check in with them to see what was going on after a full day in court. Billy saw her enter and greeted her.

"Ah miss!" He said quite smugly. "Checked in with Mr Reader today?". He was obviously still convinced she was spying for him, despite her protestations.

"No. Why?"

"Better do it sooner rather than later, miss. Let's just say I think he might have a lot to say when you do talk".

"What have you done, Billy?" Asked Martha a little scared.

* * *

Up in Manchester, Clive was returning to his hotel suite after another long day in court. His phone rang as he entered his room. Without looking at it, he answered the ringing object.

"Hello?".

"I hear there's a new Mrs Reader. When am I going to meet my new daughter in law, darling?" His mother asked down the phone.

"Hi mum!" Clive greeted.

"Don't 'Hi Mum' me," replied his mother. "I've been waiting for this news for over ten years now and when it does happen it's not my son that tells me but your senior clerk,".

Billy! Thought Clive. He should have known that he couldn't escape any interference from Billy whilst he was away. He knew how much Billy wanted to know who he was dating.

"So what's she like then?" His mother asked bringing Clive back to the phone conversation.

"We're not actually married Mum," Clive explained before launching into a full blown update on his relationship status. His mum was very happy to find her son sounded like he had finally found the person to make him happy.

"So you still haven't answered my question about when I'm going to meet this lovely woman," his mother reminded him.

"You already have, mum. It's Martha," Clive revealed.


	6. Chapter 6

Here is the last chapter in this story. Enjoy!

* * *

Martha was there to greet Clive at the station this time when he returned to London after his trial had finished. Arm in arm they walked back to Martha's. Clive would be staying there the night as his place had been unlived in for the majority of the past four months and was cold, dark and had no food in at all.

"Ah! Thank god that journey's done!" Clive said as he flopped down on the sofa. It had been an unexpectedly long trip after a two hour train delay, made all the worse just because he wanted to get back to London so badly.

"Because you've had such a terrible journey, I'm going to make dinner," Martha told him as she joined him on the sofa. "You relax, take a bath, do whatever you want whilst I do the cooking...don't look like that!" She scolded as she slapped him on the arm at the look of horror that had appeared on Clive's face at the mention of Martha cooking.

"And what am I going to be treated to?".

"Stir fry," Martha announced before departing for the kitchen.

Half an hour later and Clive had taken Martha at her word and had had a nice shower to unwind. Approaching the kitchen to find out how the chef was doing, he heard the radio blaring out with some of Martha's favourite music. As she finally came into view, he saw that she was definitely more interested in the music than her cooking. Standing at a work surface her hips were swaying in time to the music whilst she was trying to chop some vegetables. There was definitely more hip swaying than chopping going on and she was making it look extremely difficult when she was doing any chopping.

Clive made his way up behind her and hugged her from behind. "At this speed, we'll be lucky if we eat before midnight," he teased. Looking over her shoulder at the chopping board, there was only a very small pile of prepared vegetables. "Here," he offered as he placed his hands over Martha's, "you can chop much quicker if you move the knife like this," he explained as he pivoted the knife like a professional chef.

Martha let Clive take control of the knife as she released the implement and food and moved her arms backwards so that they were wrapped around Clive who was still behind her. She watched as the pile of chopped veg started to grow very quickly now Clive was in charge. "Are you suggesting my chopping technique needs improvement?" She asked.

"Never!" Replied Clive whilst he continued chopping.

"I should hope so too!" Martha replied, giving Clive's backside a gentle squeeze at the same time.

"You keep doing that and I shall have to punish you...Mrs Reader," Clive said in response to the squeeze, still continuing with his work.

"And what sort of punishment did you have in mind?" Martha teased as she gave another squeeze.

"Something like this," Clive replied, finally putting the knife down and slinging Martha over his shoulder in a fireman's lift before heading out the kitchen. Martha now had an excellent view of his backside so didn't complain. Her mind did return to more mundane things however as Clive started to leave the kitchen.

"Hob!" She exclaimed before he got to far. Clive did an about turn and walked back to the hob which had a wok gently warming on it and turned the gas off before heading to the bedroom again.

"I'm very happy about being able to do that to you on a school night as well as weekends, now that I'm back in London," Clive said after he'd administered his 'punishment'.

"Me too," Martha agreed. "I also hope other people are as happy about our relationship when we tell them,".

* * *

The next morning and Martha and Clive went to a coffee shop before heading into Shoe Lane.

"Ok, so we're agreed that we should try and break our news today," Martha said as they munched on a croissant and drank their coffee. It was the first thing each had eaten in a while as they had never got around to dinner the previous night after Clive had taken Martha to bed.

"Yep. We should get it over and done with as soon as possible," Clive agreed.

When they entered chambers Billy could be heard moving around the building getting everything ready for the day ahead, whistling a little ditty as he did so. Clive and Martha headed for their office and deposited their belongings.

"Should we tell Billy before everyone else arrives?" Clive asked. "Strike whilst the iron's still hot?".

"Ok," replied Martha. They had agreed that as Martha had a better relationship with the clerk that she would break the news to him and Clive would do so with Harriet. Taking a deep breath, they headed to the clerks room.

"Ah!" Exclaimed Billy when he saw Martha and Clive enter the room. "The prodigal son has returned I see. Welcome back, sir! And congratulations on your win,". Clive had won his trial, but also the competition to keep the identity of his new girlfriend a secret for four months. Involving Clive's mother hadn't caused as much trouble as he had hoped, so Billy had pretty much resigned himself to the fact that he may never know who she was. With Mr Reader now back in London he didn't hold out much hope for the relationship.

"Thanks Billy," Clive acknowledged.

"How are you doing otherwise? I imagine it must be tough being so far from the delectable Mrs Reader now,". Billy couldn't resist reminding Clive of the fact that he was now in a long distance relationship which probably wouldn't be easy for him.

"It's not so far, actually," Clive responded.

"No I suppose it is only a couple of hours on the train," Billy replied. "That's the spirit, sir. Chin up and all that. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?".

"Indeed it does," Clive replied.

"Can we have a word, Billy?" Martha asked.

"Of course. Just give me a minute," he replied as he disappeared from sight out of the room before returning, holding a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "Ooh, before I forget miss," Billy said in full flow. "Two words for you. Jordan Sinclair," he announced proudly. Martha looked blankly at him. "Your new case and you're welcome by the way. Had to work really hard to get that one for you but I always do my best for you,".

"Right. Ok. Whoever he is, thank you," Martha replied, not sure quite how to get back on topic.

"The footballer who landed himself in a bit of trouble with that punch," Billy prompted her. "You must know who I mean,".

"It does ring a bell," she admitted. "That's not what we wanted to talk to you about,".

Billy wasn't really listening however. "Jordan Sinclair eh? Here in Shoe Lane. Who'd have thought it?" He marvelled with a shake of his head.

"Billy!" Said Martha sternly and trying to take control of the conversation.

"Sorry, miss. What was it you wanted?".

"Ah there you are," Harriet said entering the clerks room preventing Martha from answering Billy's question. She ignored Billy and Martha's presence and talked only to Clive. "Somehow Nicola has forgiven you for your major faux pas in Manchester and decided to give you more work. You impressed her...apart from your extracurricular activities of course. But maybe now you are back in London we can put all that silliness behind you and start over again,".

"I beg your pardon?" Snapped Clive fed up with being talked to that way by Harriet. "I think you'll find the 'faux pas' as you put it, was all your fault. You are part of my professional life and as such I have no problem with you telling me which cases I will and will not take. But my private life is strictly that. Private. You are my Practice Manager, not my pimp and I will not have you dictating who I will and will not sleep with. I have made those decisions by myself since I was a teenager and I am still perfectly capable of doing so now,".

Harriet didn't know how to reply to Clive's tirade and she stood with her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as she struggled to save face.

Billy however was very impressed by Clive's outburst. "Wow, sir! Well done!" He praised, not missing an opportunity to get up Harriet's nose. "I see that you've acquired some of that Northern 'spunk' during your time in Manchester!".

"It might have something to do with who I've been spending most of my time with," Clive admitted, glancing at Martha. She knew that he was going to tell them both their secret and with her look at him, managed to convey that he had her blessing.

"Let me guess...this Mrs Reader is responsible for this change in attitude?" Harriet scoffed. "I'm not sure she's been a good influence, but I'm willing to forgive that. I've managed to secure you the prosecution in the Jordan Sinclair trial," Harriet revealed.

Billy smirked at the news. Harriet was desperately trying to prove there was no need for clerks at Shoe Lane, but he had beaten her to it on this celebrity case. He had secured Martha's position before the prosecutor had been decided. Meanwhile, there was uncomfortable glances between Martha and Clive. "I'm afraid I won't be able to take it," Clive replied.

"What?" Harriet spat. "Why not? You just said you didn't have a problem with me finding you cases!".

"I'm not taking it," Clive started before searching out Martha's hand and giving it a tight squeeze, "because we've just been told that the defence barrister is,..um...well, Mrs Reader,".

Having missed the news that Martha was Jordan's defence lawyer, Harriet looked confused. To Billy however, the identity of the mysterious woman was finally revealed. "Is this some sort of joke?" He asked, upset to be finding out this way.

"No, Billy," Martha answered. "Clive and I have been seeing each other whilst he was in Manchester. I wasn't spying for him. I am in a relationship with him. I am Mrs Reader,".

Harriet left the room without saying anything. The slamming door behind her, the only indicator of her thoughts on the news.

"I think we can guess Harriet's thoughts on our news," Martha said, "but what about you, Billy?".

"I don't understand. We've been down this road before haven't we?" Billy asked. "And it didn't end very well,".

"That was completely different, Billy. That was a one night stand. But his time we are in love," Martha answered.

"Shoe Lane's very own answer to Romeo and Juliet. Only this time they're from the houses of Prosecution and Defence!".

"Don't be like that, Billy!" Retorted Martha detecting a hint of sulkiness from the senior clerk. She changed tack, knowing how to handle him when he was in such a mood. "Apart from us no longer being able to oppose each other on the same trial, there's not going to be much of a problem is there? Nothing that you can't handle or am I wrong?" She questioned, trying to massage his ego.

"Of course I can handle it!" Billy replied. "Not much of a challenge for a clerk like me!".

"So there's no problem?".

"No," Billy confirmed, realising he had been backed into a corner.

"Excellent! I thought as much," Martha replied. "Well now you know, we'll get back to our office and our work. Let me know when Jordan Sinclair gets here," Martha ordered as her and Clive departed for their room.

* * *

"Nicely done, Marth," Clive complimented once they were in their room. He had seen the expert way that she had handled the senior clerk.

"Thank you," Martha answered.

"So when are we going to let them in on our other piece of news?" Clive asked as one hand searched out the necklace around Martha's neck, revealing the engagement ring that was threaded through it, hidden from sight beneath Martha's collar. "That you consented to officially becoming Mrs Reader, last night,".

It had been a massive shock for Martha when he had popped the question, but it didn't take her long to think about her answer. Clive knew it was impulsive having only dated for four months but he knew without doubt that Martha was the one for him. She understood what he meant and felt the same way so had accepted the proposal quickly.

"I don't think they are quite ready for that just yet," Martha replied. "Poor Billy would have had a coronary, and Harriet would have spontaneously combusted if we'd have dropped that bombshell,".

"Harriet practically did combust," Clive retorted.

"She did," Martha agreed. "So I'm thinking we let them get used to us being a couple before we announce our engagement. One step at a time," Martha said as she sidled up to Clive and threaded her arms around Clive's neck. "So I'm afraid the ring will be staying where it is for the foreseeable future,".

"Are you always right about everything?" Clive teased.

"Better get used to it Mr Reader,".

"I will, Mrs Reader," Clive rejoined before leaning in for a kiss.


End file.
